Harold Arling
Harold is a worgen paladin and knight in service to Gilneas, currently serving under the kaldorei Cirawyn Dawnwhisper in order to repay his nation's debt to the night elves. Appearance Human Harold, in his true form, is a middle-aged man who has retained a strong frame and build well into his years. His skin is naturally pale though somewhat tanned due to the time he spends marching and training outside. His face is worn and heavy, though not grim. A large albeit neatly trimmed beard covers his face and neck, kept short at the upper lip to keep his mouth clear. In typical style of a military man his hair is cut short and neat in a plain style. His hair was once a far more vivid auburn, but has dulled to a brown-red from age and stress, spotted with gray. Harold has gentle green eyes that betray the rest of his somewhat intimidating visage. Worgen Little of Harold's appearance carries over into his lupine form. His body is covered in coarse, dark smoky gray hair, his mane black. Harold's face is grizzled, signs of age and war still evident in via wrinkles and scars. At the front of his chin he sports a small white goatee, kept too short to grab onto. His ears are short and asymmetrically curl at the top. Orange, fierce eyes contrast his dark fur, and as with most worgen, thick and sharp teeth jut out of his mouth. Backstory Early Life Harold was born eleven years before the First War to a Gilnean knight and his wife. A third son, Harold was not groomed to govern, but to serve Gilneas in battle. Harold was given a good education by local priests, with an emphasis on military history and strategy. Although not a large part of his studies, Harold also took well to the faith of the Holy Light, praying in solitude and reading holy books often. He took religion seriously, leading him to become a somewhat stern and detached boy in comparison to his family, who held no particularly strong faith in the Light. The boy ultimately found more comfort in books and philosophy than the companionship of others. Squireship As Harold grew near the age to become a squire, green monsters poured into southern Azeroth from the swamps near Stormwind. Harold was far more focused on his own worlds, assured by his elders that Stormwind would be capable of handling the threat. Reaching puberty, Harold was trained in various knightly weapons, taught how to put armor on, ride a horse, and the many other tasks essential for a squire. He retained much of his childhood personality, never taking much of an interest in girls or other fleshly pursuits such as fine food and wine. Harold was fourteen when he was sent to the northern border of Gilneas to become squire to a knight there, Sir Edelbrook. Edelbrook was relatively kind to Harold, who performed his duties well, and taught his squire most of what he knew about war and combat. With word of Stormwind's fall coming from the south, this would be essential. Edelbrook's position would mean he would be at the frontline of a Gilnean defense of Silverpine. The aspect of fighting in a war did not scare Harold as much as it would most boys his age, but he was nevertheless fearful. Edelbrook commissioned a set of light armor for his squire, giving him a steel arming sword and shield as well. Two years later, the Horde began to march upon the human kingdoms and their allies in Khaz Modan and Quel'thalas. Harold was sixteen by the time the war reached Lordaeron, where Edelbrook participated in Gilnean offenses against the orcs. Harold, too, was expected to do more than merely armor the knight and tend his equipment. He followed Edelbrook into battle, mostly watching the knight's flank, though was oftentimes called to the front line. The carnage and monstrous orcs naturally horrified the boy, though he remained true to his responsibilities, doing best to find serenity in duty and the Light. It was not too long before the forces of Gilneas fought alongside Lordaeron, where Edelbrook and Harold heard of the new Order of the Silver Hand, led by imposing knights who wielded the Holy Light in combat. Harold came to view the paladins as heroes and champions of humanity and all of its causes, strongly encouraging Edelbrook to learn from the priests of Lordaeron. Edelbrook, whether inspired by Harold or simply seeing the righteousness in serving the Light, joined the Order of the Silver Hand, hastily trained in basic use of the Light. Naturally Harold followed in his footsteps, entering battle with a renewed courage knowing that the Light as with him. Against all odds, the combined forces of humanity began to push the orcs back, Edelbrook and his squire surviving without major injuries. Harold had seen much of war, slaying a few orcs himself. For good or ill he was forced into manhood, his muscles hardening from long marches and the rigors of combat. The sights he had seen and acts he committed hardened him. Harold was stern and distant, moreso than before, and would likely have been ruined by war were it not for his dedication to Gilneas and the Light. Edelbrook joined in the offensive to push the orcs back, and it was not long until the battle of Blackrock Spire took place. Although the humans won, they mourned the loss of their greatest hero, Anduin Lothar. Harold, however, mourned the loss of Sir Edelbrook, who perished when an orc found a gap in his armor. Rather than join the Alliance Expedition to march on the orcish homeworld, Harold did his duty and returned Edelbrook's remains to Gilneas, where he remained. Knighthood After recovering from his injuries and ensuring Edelbrook received a proper burial, Harold joined the Church of Gilneas in its efforts to rebuild the damage from the war and provide humanitarian efforts to those displaced by it. He silently disproved of the Greymane Wall that the king began to construct, though kept such criticisms to himself: it was not the place of a squire to question a king. But he would not remain a squire for long; as Edelbrook's superiors received word about his death and Harold's service to him, Harold was formally knighted by the King, along with many other war veterans. Such was an honor that Harold looked forward to his entire life, but after all the war and carnage, it seemed dull. His knighthood was also complimented by a full induction into the Silver Hand, which Harold rode to Capital City to receive. Completion of the Greymane Wall was nearly complete when the twenty year old Harold returned to Gilneas, a knight of the King and the Light. The Silver Hand had no major presence in Gilneas, but Harold knew his place was in Gilneas. The Wall closed, Harold effectively cut off from the majority of paladins. He continued to aid the Church and do his part in keeping the peace in Gilneas. A long time passed, twelve years, before this peace was broken. Darius Crowley rose up in rebellion against Genn Greymane, wishing to end Gilneas' isolation and aid the rest of humanity in their plight against the walking dead and a dark power in the north. This was naturally a cause Harold sympathized with: he had long desired to be reunited with his fellow paladins in Lordaeron, and it was his duty to protect humanity, no matter what king they lived under. But the Light also valued order and law. It was Harold's duty to fight the rebels, no matter how much he sympathized with his cause, and so he did. Harold, as a knight, commanded a good number of men. He was merciful when possible, but never weak: if the rebels would not surrender, they would be struck down with an iron fist. Harold ensured his men committed no brutalities, and any captured men were given a trial. Fighting fellow humans was different than battling the evil, demonic orcs, and Harold, despite now being a man approaching middle age and hardened by battle, had heavy qualms with what he was doing. Before Gilneas bled too much, Crowley and his ringleaders were captured, Gilneas brought to an uneasy peace once more. Worgen Gilneas' wall sheltered it from the Scourge and other threats, but that would not last forever. Eight years after the rebellion, Gilneas was attacked once more, this time by the worgen: wolf-like monsters. They did not kill Gilneas' people, but rather afflict them with a dark curse, turning them into worgen themselves. Harold, like many others, immediately took up arms in an effort to protect Gilneas' people from these beasts. But it was in vain. The worgen overwhelmed the humans of Gilneas, and for a time, it seemed like the people of Gilneas would become nothing more than a giant pack of wolves trapped in their own peninsula. Harold was infected too, despite his best efforts, and turned into a worgen. But that would not last long. The Cataclysm shattered the world and brought foreign armies to Gilneas. The Forsaken of the north attempted to claim Gilneas for the Horde, and they may very well have, were it not for the night elves. The night elves "cured" the worgen, allowing them to retain their sanity. Harold was eventually cured as well. He would have been horrified at his new form, but the rituals of the night elves gave him a certain peace. While he was in debt to the night elves, he knew that the Light was above all, and even if the night elves did not follow the Light, they did a good deed by helping the Gilneans. Harold's new found form and past skills and mastery over the Light made him a very dangerous foe to the Forsaken, and he quickly joined back in the fight to help his people evacuate Gilneas to find refuge in the night elf homeland. When most of the Gilnean people had been evacuated, safe for the Liberation Front and the Bloodfang, Harold joined the majority of Gilneans in the exodus to Kalimdor. He did not feel comfortable fighting with the savage Bloodfang or the rebels he once called his enemies, and thus he would go to Kalimdor to aid the refugees and help repay Gilneas' debt to the night elves. Equipment Gilnean Warplate Harold's main attire is a suit of heavy plate armor. As to be expected, it provides excellent defense: plate above mail, mail above cloth padding, and finally Harold's own worgen hide and fur. It is ornate but still practical, a warrior's armor rather than a noble's. It is colored a dark, blued steel, trimmed with a dull gold. Mostly made of steel, the breastplate and gauntlets are made of stronger, enchanted metal. With his plate Harold generally wears a helmet into battle, fit for his worgen head: it covers his head with steel, his cheeks and mane with heavy cloth padding. His maw is left exposed by his helmet, much like his gauntlets having holes for his claws; Harold, not as proud as some knights, recognizes the potential his worgen form has for killing. On the girdle is various pouches as well as Harold's libram, typical of a paladin. A Gilnean cloak and tabard are generally worn over the armor. Broadsword Harold's main weapon is a thorium broadsword, able to be used with one hands or two depending on the needs of the situation. Harold is most comfortable with swords and is rarely seen without this sheathed on his hip, regardless of whether he is riding into battle or praying to the Light. He mantains a swordsman's discipline in his worgen form, fighting with skill rather than savagery -- except when he inevitably loses control as with all worgen. Morning Star One of Harold's favored sidearms is a thick, short thorium morning star. He generally wears it on a hook on his girdle, resting on his right side. Harold will generally resort to this weapon if he is disarmed or faced with an armored opponent. He does not wield it with the same finesse or discipline as his broadsword, but his brute worgen strength melds well with a mace, only the strongest of armors not pierced by such a weapon. Spear Not used as often as his broadsword or mace but still important nevertheless is Harold's spear. Constructed with fine steel, haft included, Harold rarely carries this weapon into battle unless he intends to fight on horseback, or fight a significantly larger opponent, where the weapon's reach will serve him well. Shield Harold possess a finely made wooden, rectangular shield, reinforced with steel. He does not carry it often into skirmishes, preferring his armor, parrying, and the Light itself to protect him. As should be expected, Harold will always carry his shield into prolonged battles or engagements where he knows the enemy will make heavy use of archers or other ranged fighters. Flintlock Pistol Kept at the back of Harold's girdle is a plain albeit sturdy flintlock pistol. Although Harold did not embrace Gilneas' industrialization as much as other fighters, he nevertheless recognizes its value in wartime. He prefers not to resort to such a weapon, though will use it when faced with an opponent he cannot reach, a heavily armored foe, or in other tight situations. War Hammer The most iconic weapon of the paladin is one that Harold does not use much at all. However he possesses a finely made, heavy warhammer made out of a material unknown to Harold. It was once the favored weapon of Sir Edelbrook, a man far larger and stronger than Harold. He could only clumsily wield it before being afflicted with the worgen curse, his new found strength allowing him to use it perhaps more easier than Edelbrook did. It was one of the few belongings that Edelbrook's family wanted to pass on to Harold. He does not use it often, seeming to keep it more as a momento than a war weapon. Knife Made of a thick, sturdy metal, this knife is more of a tool than a weapon. Harold generally carries it for its utilitarian uses, able to cut firewood in the pinch, sever a robe, or perhaps serve as a last-ditch weapon with more versatility than Harold's own claws. Gallery Haroldboy.png Haroldwar.png Harold2.png Category:Worgen Category:Human Category:Paladin Category:Knight Category:Gilneas Category:Roots of Kalimdor Category:Back story